SpaceX · In Development · us · Lander
Starship HLS
NASA Artemis lunar lander variant of Starship; supports 2–4 crew transfer from Orion in NRHO.
Verified 2026-09-24
Subsystems
3 Raptor vacuum engines for lunar descent/ascent; additional RCS thrusters; methane/liquid oxygen propellants; requires on-orbit propellant transfer from Starship tankers before trans-lunar injection.
Integrated ECLSS hardware in development; SpaceX building life support, environmental control, and cabin systems for crewed surface missions.
GNC milestones completed per NASA progress reviews; autonomous precision lunar landing capability required.
Band of solar panels around vehicle circumference; kW capacity not publicly specified.
Docks with Orion in NRHO for crew transfer; PDA (petal docking adaptor) interface; later Artemis missions require docking with Gateway.
Specs & Metrics
- Crew Capacity ↑ better
- 2 seats
- first crewed-landing configuration, two crew from Orion (Artemis III in this 2025 paper; the first landing is now Artemis IV); up to 4 for later missions
- Maximum number of crew members the vehicle can carry on a nominal mission.
- Pressurized Volume ↑ better
- 614 m³
- Total pressurized volume of full Starship HLS; each airlock ~13 m³ habitable
- Total internal pressurized volume of the spacecraft in cubic metres.
Program roadmap
- slipped
Ship-to-ship cryogenic propellant transfer test (NASA OIG: slipped from March 2025 to March 2026)
2026-03↗ - slipped
Uncrewed HLS lunar landing demo, required before a crewed landing (NASA OIG: expected to slip to the end of 2026)
2026 Q4↗ - planned
Artemis III — a Starship V3 test article docks nose-to-nose with crewed Orion in low Earth orbit; no landing, and astronauts will not enter it
2027↗ - planned
Artemis IV — first crewed lunar landing of the program (moved from Artemis III)
2028↗